Teen Driving Solutions School, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to reducing teen deaths from automobile crashes, is announcing its 2014 class schedule for students and their parents in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. TDSS’s signature class, the Safe Teen Driver Course, is a two-day intensive program for both teenage drivers and their parents. The class provides teens with a mix of behind-the-wheel and mental training to improve vehicle control in a structured and safe setting, and incorporates parents with a licensed relationship and communication expert to help improve the effectiveness of their driving coaching.
The first spring TDSS class is scheduled for March 22-23, 2014, and registration is open at www.teendrivingsolutions.org. This will mark the first of eight Safe Teen Driver Courses planned for 2014. The dates for the remaining 2014 classes are April 12-13, May 24-25, June 21-22, July 5-6, July 19-20, Sept. 13-14 and Oct. 18-19. All classes will be held at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. at the North Carolina border.
TDSS is actively working to lower frightening statistics. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, teenage driving related car crashes are the primary cause of death for this age group, and these teen crashes cause more than 400,000 injuries every year. In addition to the Safe Teen Driver Courses, TDSS supports its mission to save lives by conducting safe-driving advocacy through volunteered time for speaking engagements and demonstration clinics focused on alerting teenagers to the perils of distracted driving.
The TDSS Safe Teen Driver Course is not a replacement for parents training their teens or standard driver education programs. TDSS builds on basic skills learned in these avenues to give teens intensive physical and mental experience that will equip them to better handle challenging driving situations in real life. The curriculum ensures students understand the perils of distracted driving, improves their decision-making skills and puts them through training exercises to physically control the car in various potentially life-threatening situations (avoidance and recovery), such as a tire dropping from the pavement, the wheels skidding out, an accident or crash occurring nearby and more.
“Typical driver’s education courses focus on teens passing the license test, which is necessary, but often not enough,” said Daniel Wagner, founder and president of TDSS. “Teens can still lack the confidence and skills to be a responsible driver even after they obtain a learner’s permit or license. TDSS provides a higher level physical and mental training to give them self-assurance and keep them safe. By working through these real-word experiences and learning the proper way to stay calm, correct a situation and avoid additional hazards, our students will be safer, smarter drivers. And, ultimately we’ll start to lower the frightening teen death rate from car crashes. ”
Expert TDSS instructors with decades of experience lead class curriculum focused on mental skills and preparedness, where students learn to take personal responsibility every time they drive. While teenage drivers are in the classroom, parents are led by a master licensed relationship and communication expert, Dr. Dar Hawks, who teaches key skills on how to best coach teens who are new drivers. Parents then also get a chance to drive with the same instructor teaching their teen, helping parents understand the skills that their child needs to learn and showing them simple, effective ways to teach and lead by example.
Teens of at least 15 years of age who currently have a learner’s permit or driver’s license and have a minimum of 20 hours supervised behind-the-wheel experience are eligible to participate in the TDSS Safe Teen Driver Course. Participants may use their own car of one of the TDSS’s training vehicles while taking the course. Registration starts at $595, including both parent and teen participation, and classes are limited to 24 students. Registration is now open for all eight classes in the 2014 season. To learn more or to register for a class, visit: http://teendrivingsolutions.org.
About Teen Driving Solutions School:
Teen Driving Solutions School is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Raleigh, N.C., that offers hands-on training and class curriculums to teenage drivers ages 15 and up in order to instill positive driving habits and reduce the high death rates of teen drivers. The focus is to educate these teens about road safety and provide parents with tools to motivate their child and enforce positive driving habits. The nonprofit offers the two-day classes as well as safe driving advocacy and volunteer time for speaking engagements and clinics focused on alerting teenagers to the perils of texting or multitasking while driving. For more information or to register your child for a class, visit: http://teendrivingsolutions.org.
